Deptford lives

Thanks to the Ragged School Blog for pointing this out.

I saw the film Deptford Lives at the Made in Deptford festival, but for those who missed it, you can now watch it online here.

It's well worth a look - especially if your only knowledge of Deptford and its residents is via the BBC's documentary The Tower! This series of short documentaries gives a nice flavour of the people and places of the area, showing that it's not all drugs and yuppies...

Project Brockzilla

I've been a bit slow on the uptake on this one for some reason. I think I missed the original announcement and it didn't really strike me until I was reading it this morning and had a moment of inspiration...

Well if time allows and the weather improves (currently pissing it down AGAIN) I may submit something. I would class myself more of a creative type than a full-blown artist; I love making crafty things that are practical or wearable, rather than struggling with concepts and reasons and explanations and so on. Luckily we seem to have lots of artists, creatives and crafters around this neck of the woods, so I feel like I'm in good company!

So come on folks, take a look and rev up your creative juices for Project Brockzilla!

First time for everything!

This lovely bike shed has been on Deptford station for several months now. The other day we saw a rare sight - bikes in the shed! I'm not by any means saying that Deptford station suffers more crime than any other station in the region - I would certainly think twice about leaving my bike at ANY rail station for more than about half an hour! Greenwich station has lockers for bikes (or at least it used to, don't know if they are still there) but you have to rent them, which is a pain unless you cycle every day. I prefer to skip the train altogether on the days I use my bike, and ride all the way to to work. I might have a different opinion if I had to actually cross the West End by bike though - my route ends just north of the river in Pimlico so it's quite a pleasant route.

A photograph was required as evidence that the shed actually gets used. Later I came back and the bikes were gone, hopefully still in the hands of their rightful owners.

Cake and creativity news

No time like the present eh? Just back from a very worthwhile trip to Deptford Properly, our new neighbourhood cafe; a visit which was notable for several reasons. Firstly, and of course most importantly for a cafe, it ticked many of the boxes for me in terms of tea and cake. And some of those were boxes that very rarely get ticked, I have to add - such as the presence of proper tea leaves, tea strainer, and teacup and saucer. I never make tea like that at home due to the inconvenience of having to clean out the teapot afterwards, but it marks out a proper cafe for me. I've long been a fan of Royal Teas in Greenwich for just this reason, but it is great to see tea leaves creeping over the borough border into Deptford at last!



As far as cake goes, I only got chance to try the lemon cake, but it was absolutely sublime and I have no reason to believe the other cakes on offer would not meet the same standard. You can also get light lunches (homemade quiche, humus, sandwiches etc) and a huge range of drinks, herbal teas, coffees and so on.

Secondly, I came out to two Deptford Dame fans! Deptford Properly manager/teamaker extraordinaire Sakura, who commented on my previous post, and Clare (aka Belle) Pressnell, whose textile art is currently on display at the cafe. Belle's show is called 'Deptford Stitched Up'; she has skillfully combined photography and textiles to create some very thought-provoking pieces commenting on Deptford's ongoing regeneration. If you have been following the local bloggers' discussions about developments on Deptford Creek, the Seager Distillery or the debates about The Tower on BBC1, you will recognise the themes in Belle's work. The black and white photographs are printed on fabric interfacing and then overstitched with bright colours, the tower cranes and building sites of the area appearing gaudy and out of place against the familiar facades of our street scenes.




I suspect I'm going to develop a real soft spot for this cafe, as it's the sort of place I would LOVE to run myself (if I wasn't so lazy...!). It is small but perfectly formed; there are a few tables inside and out, a large comfy-looking sofa, and it is decorated with all sorts of found items, many of them from the neighbouring junk shop or from Deptford market, according to Sakura.



And although it's only been open for a week, there are already discussions about starting a knitting group in the cafe! As some of you may know, this is a subject rather dear to my heart, or rather to that of my alter ego the Knit Nurse.

Nip down and catch the cafe on market days (Wed, Fri, Sat) from 10am till 7pm and for special events on Sundays (check on Utrophia).

Deptford Stitched Up will be on show for at least the next three weeks.

More Deptford Properly

A message from Sakura who runs the new Deptford Properly cafe:

"The first Sunday Special at Deptford Properly on 12 Aug will be
Kamilla's Hair Salon!! This will be from 11-7 - come along and get an amazing haircut for £10 and try some of our delights from the kitchen"

I am going to try and get down there some time in the next few days. Hell, why not go now? (*exit stage left*)

Deptford in bloom

Amazing how much you can cram onto a small balcony! As well as the herbs (chives, oregano, thyme, bay, rosemary, mint, tarragon and basil) there are quite a few flowers, and 12 tomato plants laden with fruit.